What you don’t know will hurt you! By Yuliya Cohen LAW OF ATTRACTION AND ADDICTION
In the spring of 2009, James Ray visited Boston, and I attended his introductory event along with friends from the Boston Law of Attraction group. James was a charismatic and smooth salesman. Yet I felt uneasy. He clearly had perfected the art of salesmanship but he seemed to be doing it for its own sake, for the sake of selling, rather than for the sake of making a difference in people’s lives.
“Wow, this is the shadow side of the Law of Attraction,” I thought to myself. “So you become really good at selling, and then when do you stop?” Is attraction the only thing to pay attention to? How much money is it ok to charge and to how many people? If you don’t pay attention to the consequences of your actions, if there are no limits or constraints, one can lose control. Starting with the way the evening unfolded, it became clearer and clearer that Ray was out of control.
As I was considering this possibility, something dramatic took place. Standing on the stage, Ray picked up and waved in the air one of his CDs.
“Who wants a CD” he asked the audience. The audience watched not sure how to respond.
“So anyone interested in the CD? No one?”, he persisted. “Really, no one at all?”
Finally a man tentatively raised his hand. Ray called on him to come to the stage and handed him the CD.
“Here, you can have it for free. You did great. See, this man took an opportunity that was presented to him, while the rest of you sat and did nothing. It is just as you do in your own life – continually miss opportunities that life presents you with.”
He went on with his presentation, sanctimoniously elaborating on the subject of missed opportunities, and after a while, picked up another CD.
“Who is interested in a CD this time?”
An enthusiastic group of people jumped out of their chairs and rushed to the bottom of the stage. I watched in disbelief what happened next. Waving a CD in his raised arm, Ray proceeded pacing from one corner of the stage to another, preaching about missed opportunities, while people were swarming at the bottom of the stage with their outstretched arms reaching out for that one CD. As he moved across the stage, the whole group, like a herd, followed him from one side of the stage to another, still reaching and waving their hands eager to be the next recipient.
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I was appalled by how demeaning this whole situation was becoming. A disturbing tension was building up and it was at that point I sensed a vortex of dark energy opening above James. It had not yet descended upon him, but it was as if the energy was throwing him a hook and seeing how he reacted.
Ray continued pacing the stage clearly oblivious to the impact of his actions.
I watched the vortex intently wondering what would happen next. Suddenly the situation went out of control. One man from the crowd, attempted to jump onto the stage, trying to snatch the CD by grabbing it out of James hands. James got jolted, taken by surprise. He managed to evade the man’s hand, walked one more time across the stage as if trying to figure out what just happened, and then handed the CD to a single person in the crowd. Everyone else turned around and returned empty-handed to their seats. The whole experience felt like it was stripping people of their dignity.
Ray dismissed the experience and went on with his sales pitch.
The man jumping to grab snatch the CD, was a warning, I thought, a red flag. He was given a chance to self-correct but he did not take it. He did not see, he did not understand. Next time the situation will be more out of control, I thought. I tuned into the future to feel what it may be. The future felt dark and disturbing inexorably pulling Ray into more darkness. Something horrible is going to happen, I thought.
I shared my observations and concerns with friends from the Law of Attraction group. “Hey, remember, not to dwell on the negative. You should think positively”, they admonished me. How many of you have thought that way?
At one time I might have agreed, but not this time. I left the presentation with tears welling in my eyes. I saw the future and did not know what to do. Should I have talked to Ray? I didn’t believe he would hear me.
Attending the event automatically put me on his mailing list. Over the months as I received his video e-mails, I continued being conflicted. I would periodically check on his energy. I could sense the dark cloud growing larger, more ominous. I wanted to say – “Wake up”, I wanted to shake him, make him see. Then in October I heard of the tragedy. The tragedy in Arizona was not an accident. In my perception, it was in the making for quite a while. And I will always wonder if my contacting Ray could have made the difference, could I have averted the tragedy. Somehow I don’t think so.
The fact that Ray would “attract” the deaths of three participants in his sweat lodge during a October 2009 Spiritual Warrior
CHOICE POINT MAGAZINE 59
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